PodJam.tv Now Live!

Yesterday marked the beginning of a new adventure for me.  After a month and a half of planning and preparation for a site designed to be a hub for people to jam, my partner and co-host @mistygirlph have launched PodJam.Tv.  We started out with two posts here on my site.  We had so much fun writing and sharing with our audience that we pushed ourselves to move forward and create a place for people to learn, and share with our passion.   Our goal is to be able to post videos, audio podcasts and written  articles full of helpful tidbits of information that deals with different aspects of a person’s digital life.

L to R: Misty Belardo and Marty McPadden

We hope to bring our personal views, reviews and tips about photography, social media, technology and life. Take you to our travels and  allow you a peak into our online and offline life.  What will happen to my site you may ask.  Well, it will still be here, please feel free to browse around and share if you like.  But my efforts and concentration will be on PodJam.Tv, creating content for the new site is now my priority.  I invite you to check out PodJam.Tv, come and have fun with us, engage and learn with us.  

You can also find PodJam.Tv on Facebook and please follow us on Twitter for updates, cool contests and giveaways.

Five Simple Words

Please, thank you, you're welcome. Sound familiar to you? If your answer is no, you're not alone. When is the last time you've said "thank you?" How about "you're welcome?" I rarely hear those words anymore. Many people seem like they can't be bothered. Five simple words.

I always make it a point to say "please" when asking for something or "thank you" when receiving something. I would expect most people make it a point to say "thank you" or "please" when interacting with friends and family but how about people you don't know? Just because we don't know someone on a personal level, does it mean they deserve any lesser respect than people we know and love?

Recently I've started to pay closer attention to my everyday interactions and have observed a particularly interesting phenomenon when interacting with strangers and; in particular, with service employees. This includes wait staff in restaurants, store clerks, box office staff, flight attendants to name a few. What I've observed is a noticeable reaction of surprise as a result of our interactions. This is usually followed by a smile, like I made their day just by having a conversation with them. It's subtle but definitely noticeable; in a good way.

I've thought about why people seem to be reacting to me in this way and then it dawned on me. Most people, particularly people you don't know, aren't used to hearing any of the "five simple words." To say "please," "thank you" and "you're welcome" takes about one second per phrase. One second of your time and effort that can make a person's day seems like a simple and easy thing to do. For me, it's as natural as breathing.

I remember hearing somewhere that it takes 21 days for something you do to become a habit. If it's not already habit for you, I challenge you to start today using the "five simple words" as part of your normal, everyday conversations. This applies to online interactions as well. It's easy once you get started. How about it?

Five. Simple. Words

Photo Credit: graur razvan ionut

Posted via email from Marty McPadden

Breaking Out Of My Comfort Zone At BlogWorld

I'm not one for using cliches but in this case, "stepping out of my comfort zone" has a lot of meaning for me. It was back in August when I decided to change my Twitter name to my real name in order to be more transparent in taking that first step. For a natural introvert like me, it was a big step.

As I mentioned in that last post, I have been fortunate to meet some wonderful and incredible people online. The name change was a first step to be more transparent and start putting myself out there and sharing more freely. I also committed to the goal of further getting outside of my comfort zone by seeking to meet as many of my Twitter and online friends in person as possible. While online tools are great for establishing relationships, I believe it is important to seek in-person meetings too. There are real people behind those online profiles and I am determined to meet and et to know them.

One way to break out of your comfort zone is to attend conferences and meet-ups. I mentioned in my last post that my next goal was to put together a meet-up tour, if you will, to meet and forge relationships with as many of my virtual friends as I can. Well, this journey starts this Wednesday when I go wheels up out of Hartford, Connecticut and touch down in Las Vegas for the BlogWorld and New Media Expo at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. This is huge for me and way outside my comfort zone but judging from the encouraging conversation I have had on Twitter over the past few days, I can't wait to meet, interact and learn from everyone attending this great event. 

I'll be busy over the next couple of days packing, charging my camera batteries and making my schedule. There are so many awesome events, it's going to be hard to decide. I'm looking forward to some inspiring keynote sessions and learning from experts in the field of new media and blogging. I'll also be taking part in the Blog World Photo Walk along the famous Strip. Since this is my first trip to Las Vegas, I'm looking forward to having fun photographing the sites and sharing creative ideas with my fellow photographers. I also plan on enjoying some cool parties and meeting some great people over the three days of the conference. 

I plan on taking lots of pictures and video and will be blogging my experiences in Vegas. This is just my first big step. I've already made plans to attend the Interactive track of SxSW in Austin Texas this March. As I ended my last post; "I'm Marty McPadden from Connecticut. It's great to meet you."

For more details about BlogWorld: BlogWorldExpo.com

Posted via email from Marty McPadden

Why I Changed My Twitter Name

This September 30th will mark my third anniversary on Twitter. It has certainly been quite a journey. I'm an introvert by nature. When I created my account, I used a rather cryptic name that included a combination of my first name and numbers: marty0518. I was leery of putting myself out there, in public, on the Internet. For the first year, I only dipped my virtual toe in the Twitter waters, posting occasionally and rarely reaching out. I was fearful of what other people would think. Fear limited my interactions...until one person reached out to me.

In January 2009, Bill Mitchell (@askbillmitchell) replied to one of my tweets. I don't remember the particular post or reply, but that's not what's important. Bill took a chance on me and reached out. What started with a simple reply led to a phone call and many conversations. I credit Bill with helping me break through the wall of fear and begin to explore the potential of Twitter in forging REAL relationships. 

In the past three years, I've been fortunate to meet and become friends with several incredible people. For an introvert like me, this has been a wonderful gift and has made me realize that there are great people out there. You just need to break through the fear and reach out. If you seek positive relationships and look for the good in people, you will find it. I value honesty, transparency and real people and I've been blessed to find those qualities in most people I've met on Twitter.

This got me thinking and over the past several weeks I have contemplated changing my Twitter name to my full, REAL name. If I believe in honesty and transparency, I should put my thoughts and values into action. So, this past Saturday, I made the switch. I changed my long time Twitter name from @marty0518 to @MartyMcPadden. This is just another way for me to step farther outside my comfort zone in putting myself out there in a more public and transparent way. So far, it's been an incredibly rewarding and positive experience.

The number one benefit I've gained from participating in social media has been the ability to cast a wide net regarding meeting people. Instead of limiting myself to my immediate surroundings here in Connecticut, Twitter and other social networks have allowed me to meet incredible people from all over the world I would never have had the opportunity to become friends with, let alone be aware of their existence. 

My next goal in stepping outside of my comfort zone is to get out and meet as many of my Twitter friends in person as possible. I'm looking forward to attending some upcoming conferences and meet-ups and I'm currently making plans to do so. My dream is to put together a meet-up tour, so to speak, to meet and forge in-person relationships with as many of my virtual friends as possible. Isn't that what life's all about?

I'm Marty McPadden from Connecticut. It's great to meet you.

Posted via email from Marty McPadden

Be You: My Twitter Philosophy

 

I've had my Twitter account since September 2007 and have been actively posting since January 2009. During that time, Twitter has experienced phenomenal growth and has become a main player in the social media space. With the growth of users, there are many opinions regarding the "right" way to use Twitter or following certain "rules" on what is and is not acceptable.

My Twitter philosophy is pretty simple: it's different for everyone. What I mean by that is everyone is unique. The following are my "rules" or "philosophy" regarding how I use and interact on Twitter:

Be generous

Share your knowledge freely and contribute to the community. Everyone has something to contribute as well as learn from others. That's one of the great aspects of Twitter for me.

Be helpful

Take the initiative to help others whether it's answering a question someone may have or just being there with a supportive word or gesture.

Be courteous

Avoid flame wars. Offer positive content intended to uplift instead of tear down. Take the high road at all times. It will come back to you many times over.

Be yourself

This is probably the most important rule for me. Always be yourself! Everyone is unique and has a great deal to offer the world. It's this uniqueness that makes you special and makes your interactions real and meaningful.

That's it. It's that simple for me. How about you? What is your Twitter philosophy? Do you have one? I invite your comments.